New guy here.....All input appreciated

[Jon Durham]

My name is Jon Durham. I'm a musician by trade and have always been somewhat of a conservation / enviro-friendly type person. Eagle scout, taught conservation and enviromental science for a few years at scout camp...nothing too high brow, just the basics.

At any rate, I have been planning for an off-the-grid home for several years now. The first real experience was with two trailers I built from cargo trailers to tour in. I found that with just a couple deep cycle batteries, charging while I drive from the alternator, provided me with plenty of power for everything except hot water. The twelve volt heater element was a bust. Way too much current draw. I considered a heat transfer from the exhaust but finally settled on an on demand gas unit. The trailers work great. I am currently reconfiguring one of them for a mobile dog grooming unit. :rolleyes: You can see them here: http://www.jondurham.net/jon_durham001.htm scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Trailers".

I just purchased some property out in the country. I am going to build a cabin out there. Here is the plan: I have a '71 diesel Mecedes that I want to first configure to use as my power plant. Remove all the seats except the drivers seat. Cut open the floor panel to expose the drive shaft. Remove the drive gears from the rear end so the car doesn't move, just a spinning drive shaft. On the shaft, install two pulleys. one for a high output DC alternator to charge a battery bank, stored in the trunk. I figure 6 or 8 deep cycle batteries. I figure to use 12 volt lighting and appliances where available. For standard house current, I figure on a 2,500 / 5,000 watt inverter only when needed. The second pulley on the drive shaft I intend to use to power a water pump to pump water from the well to a 42 gallon reserve tank. From there, a 12 volt pump to supply the cabin. I will have a gas stove and I am now considering if I should go with gas on demand hot water or if a heat transfer from the engine cooling system is workable. I think it is. A standard hot water tank, maybe 10 gallons, with copper coils installed and looped in place of the heater core. I currently have a 30 gallon electric tank with a switch. I only turn it on before I bath. Only takes about 20 minutes to heat up and holds good temperature for up to 48 hours. What kind of success would I have with the heat exchange set up and what kind of time would it take to heat 10 gallons to around 120 degrees ? Also, after I get the pump, alternator and hot water set up, I want to convert the car to WVO. Would there be too much heat loss from the water heater to then use the same type system to preheat the WVO ? Or can I overcome that issue with a change of thermostat ? Also, I have read that a heated fuel filter is the way most folks are going for the finnal stage of heating for the WVO. Is it possible to accomplish this with an exhaust heat exchange ? Maybe a few turns of fuel line around the exhaust ?

Finally, and least importantly, what about ground loop, compressorless, AC ? I will only be cooling a 12 x 20 space. Will a 12 volt pump with a radiator / fan set up provide cooling worth the while ?

OK, I know that's a little to chew on and if I am in the wrong forum, pleae correct me. I'm new here. There aren't many folks around these parts that even have the slightest idea of what I am talking about here and anyone who even takes the time to listen thinks I'm a nut. If I am, just say so. :D

[Jon Durham]

Couple other things to mention. One I already mentioned, the switch on my electric water heater. I know some folks have timers but a switch is great. Only takes a few minutes to heat a full tank. Also, anyone else using that state of the art clothesline technology ? I haven't owned a clothes dryer in years. One day about ten years ago I was sitting in my bedroom with the clothes dryer running just outside in the hallway. Then I listened more closely and could hear the AC running. I thought "how stupid is this ?" one machine making cool air and one making hot air all at the same time in the same house. Since throwing out the dryer and installing a switch on my water heater, the highest electric bill I have had is $32. The norm is around $20. If we could convince half the country to use a clothesline and switch their hot water on and off as needed, I'm sure it would make a HUGE dent in consumption.

Anyone ?

[Mark Parsons]

Greetings Jon,

Great looking trailers!

You had me wondering with your Mercedes power plant description :eek: until I read the WVO plan. Unless you get the WVO for free, costs will add up.

I built a off-grid log home cottage year before last. It is still very much a work in progress. My approach is to harvest energy from the local environment - solar, wind, and microhydro. I have some of each already in place. Other than the purchased solar PV the other turbines I built. Great fun. Fun to watch things spinning and read the charge controller screen to see the home made energy charging the batteries. Heat is wood with propane back-up. Water heat is solar and wood stove loop. To see my water plan I posted it on this forum under - Sustainable building, green shelter, ZEH thread.
The only time I will have to listen to the genny will be for power tools and emergencies. My place is on 100 acres of bush. The sound I most enjoy is the creek rushing by.

To answer your water heating question - in a roundabout way. I refurbished a 3' x 8' solar flat plate collector. Got it from a junkyard for free. Tests show it provides about 1500 btu per hour in full sun. 1 btu heats 1 pound of water 1 degree F. The rule of thumb is 1 sq. ft of collector for 1 gallon of hot water per day. My 24 sq. ft collector should provide 24 gallons of hot water per day of sun. Much cheaper and quieter than a diesel engine.;)

Regards,
Mark

[Jon Durham]

That sounds a lot like.....dare I whisper.....paradise ?

Mark, I'm thinking about going with some solar too. I guess the idea of the car works for me because: A. The car has been sitting gathering rust for ten years. Might as well put it to use. B. I'm a musician and I play a ton of bar / grill type places. I can get all the free grease I want and just pick it up along the way.

There are already two houses on the property, both livable. I've been offered and decided to go ahead and get the adjacent tract of beautiful hardwoods to make it 15 acres. (100 sounds really nice, far enough you can't sprint across it). Anyway, that's where we're gonna put the cabin(s). I'm heading up to pick up the old Mercedes next week end from my dads. It's been out in the weeds for years but we've started every few months just to keep the seals from drying out so, it should be OK.

I am now trying to think of alternate ways to get the oil heated. It should be much easier considering that the car will be stationary. The cabin will use wood with gas back up, just like your plan Mark. I think Solar is a really good option too here in S.C. Lattitude should allow us to get goosd results with that I think. I have to do much more research into that though. One area I don't a lot about.

Anyway, thanks for the link and reply. I'll check it out.

I'll also be sure to post some pictures over on my web site and kind of log this project once it gets started and moves along.

JD

[Mark Parsons]

Hi Jon,

Can't beat free fuel.:D

Just a couple of questions on your power plant plan. Why use the drive shaft to drive an alternator? Why not just use the existing alternator on the engine accessory belt? Driving the transmission to get the drive shaft to turn is just added load and efficiency losses. If concerned the existing alternator is not large enough to charge batteries - I would bet it is at least a 30 amp unit and more than likely 50 amp - then replace it with a higher output model. You may also find that using an electric motor driven well pump will be a lot more convenient than trying to rig up a mechanical drive system. There are some 12V well pump models available now.

Heating the oil with the South Carolina sun sounds like the right idea with maybe a WVO burner for back up. Pour the oil into a drum painted black and mounted inside an insulated glass front box. Check out : http://www.builditsolar.com/ for lots of DIY ideas on solar heating.

Regards,
Mark

[Jon Durham]

I was thinking the sun might do well to heat the oil. Definitely a back up burner of some sort. Pobably gas ? Wood maybe ?

I was thinking of keeping the car battery seperate from the house bank and also I was thinking that being able to actually shift gears in manual tranny might help with RPM issues that might arise.

I'll check out the 12 volt deep well pumps for sure. Didn't know they were out there. I guess I am thinking of getting all I can out of the drive train while it's running but I guess power = power any way you look at it.

[Mark Parsons]

Hi Jon,

I've never done this but seems feasible in my mind if the oil doesn't congeal into grease or shortening when chilled to ambient temperature. Won't the WVO burn similar to heating oil? Couldn't you salvage an old oil burner from a home furnace and feed it WVO. Or even a simpler one like the mother earth news unit linked below. That could be your back-up if the solar doesn't keep the WVO up to temp prior to starting the diesel.
Found this http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/oilburners02.html
and this http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me9.html

Does the WVO require any other processing prior to running in the diesel? I know biodiesel processing purifies and modifies the WVO.

Mark

[Jon Durham]

Hey Mark,

Just got back from NC and guess what ? The old Benz started up like a champ. (On diesel.) Didn't get it here yet but wanted to make sure it was still going before I hauled it down here. It actually looked so much better than I remembered that I wanted to drive it !

The WVO, from what I have gathered, needs to be filtered down to at least 10 microns, 5 microns preferably. Any water removed, then heated to 160 degrees or better (though not too much more than that). At that point it should be relatively the same viscosity as diesel. Adding to my confidence are a couple old timers (pardon the expression), one being my ex father in law who has been a dozer man all his life. He assures me that the engine will run on vegatable oil. He laughs when I tell him it's the "new" idea. He's over 80 and says there is nothing new about it at all. The other is the neighbor where the car has been parked for years. He's also an old diesel mechanic and assures me that the old engine will have no problem running on good, clean, oil especially if, like I said, it will be stationary, running under controlled conditions. Gonna make another run up there this week and hope to get it back here. The tires were flat and a couple rotted beyond inflation.

Great idea to burn WVO to heat the WVO for the engine. Thanks !

I'll keep you posted.